Best Way to Help a Child with Language Difficulties

Speech and language therapists are trained in human com­munication skills and are able to identify and treat problems with speech and language. At the initial visit, the therapist will assess many aspects of a child’s language development (such as articulation, use of grammar, listening ability, concentration), using both observation and formal assessment techniques. Having diagnosed the difficulty, the therapist will decide on a suitable course of treatment. For a younger child, this might mean a series of language games that can be integrated into his play routines. Older children may be seen regularly for speech therapy, either in a small group or in individual treatment. Parents are expected to give full support to the treatment plan.

A child with a language disorder, particularly in the preschool years, is prone to tantrums. This occurs because the child’s inability to communicate his feelings and wishes gives him a strong sense of frustration, which he can only release through temper. He has no other way to express his annoyance. Parents often find that their previously frustrated child becomes more settled once he can use language more effectively.

• A child may have a speech difficulty, even though all other areas of his development are satisfactory. In such cases, the speech difficulty is the child’s sole problem and it either clears up spon­taneously, or else responds to help from a speech therapist. Minor speech difficulties include the following:
• Lisping. A child often develops a lisp in the early years. He begins to make letter substitutes, such as “th” for “s,” “f” for “th,” and so on. These speech patterns usually pass as the child reaches school age. A child may acquire a temporary lisp when his first teeth begin to fall out. A lisp can also be caused by misuse of the tongue or by a cleft palate. Speech therapy can help this condition.
• Mispronunciation. Learning to speak takes time, and mis­takes are part of the process. Many children have difficulty with certain sounds, causing their speech to become unclear. This defect usually disappears spontaneously. If your child’s speech is still unclear by the time he nears school age, then speech therapy may be required.
• Inadequate stimulation. Speech development partly depends on a child’s interaction with others in his family. By listen­ing to others talk to him, the child develops an interest in language. Some children lack this essential stimulation. The remedy for this is lots of individual attention using discus­sions, stories, songs, and poems.
• Stammering/stuttering. With this defect, a child talks very hesitantly, perhaps repeating the first letter or first part of a word several times. Many children in the early stages of lan­guage acquisition develop some form of stutter, probably because they want to say so much. This temporary form of speech impediment clears up as a child becomes more con­fident in his use of language. Never make fun of a stutter­ing child. Never imitate him, and never become impatient with him. Speech therapy can help stutterers gain more control over their speech.

More-serious speech and language difficulties can involve the following:

• General developmental delay. With this problem, a child will also be slow in other aspects of development, such as learn­ing to walk, learning bladder control, becoming indepen­dent, and learning to socialize with other children. The ear­lier this type of difficulty is detected, the sooner the child will be able to receive help.
• Hearing loss. This is the most frequent cause of serious lan­guage difficulties. Adequate hearing is crucial for a child to learn language. If he can’t hear the sounds of speech, then he won’t be able to reproduce them. A child referred to a speech and language therapist will always undergo a hear­ing assessment as well.
• Autism. An autistic child uses language in a bizarre way, making normal communication with him impossible. In addition to social and emotional difficulties, an autistic child has delayed language development and impaired comprehension. Treatment for this condition is usually a multiprofessional approach in a special-school setting.

• Brain damage. Specific areas of the brain are responsible for specific functions. If the areas responsible for language are damaged, then the child will have a language difficulty. The seriousness and extent of the problem depends on the degree of brain damage that has occurred.
• Severe articulation disorders. A child may have problems actually producing speech sounds, even though he may know what he wants to say and how it should sound. Mild articulation errors are a normal part of development: for example, many young children miss out parts of words (say­ing “at” for “cat”), or may substitute one sound for another (saying “toat” for “coat”). Severe articulation disorders last­ing beyond the age of five may render an older child’s lan­guage totally incomprehensible. Speech and language ther­apy is necessary in this instance.